The Songwriter Forum - songwriting reviews, tips and chat
Songwriter Forum => Recording => Topic started by: MartynRich on May 02, 2016, 10:32:26 PM
-
Ok, so who suffers this and how do they deal with it?
I have been seeing some serious delays in finishing songs because of red light syndrome, almost always down to recording vocals. I have tried to reason with myself, do warm-up exercises, laugh out loud because I know I can take as many tries as I like and I´ve even sung naked (ok, not really).
But whenever I press ´R´ to record, the butterflies start and it sounds nothing like it does when I rehearse it. I´m sure many of you can relate to this in some way or another.
Any suggestions??
-
This is purely a psychological issue - and (IMHO) a bit of a hangover from the "tape" and "studio hire" days when time was money
I would try to reset your perception and accept that in the digital age,mwhere you can record at home, you can record as many takes as you like - no extra costs, no extra pressure, no problem
The obvious answer is to simply just record everything - even your warm ups and rehearsals
-
Martyn,
Q - how do you know 'that 't sounds nothing like it does when I rehearse' - are you recording them as well, or is it in your mind that they're better?
The more practice then generally the better I get. I find the first line/first verse are the most difficult as it often has less backing than later ones where I've got into the song more , so sometimes I sing the first verse over the second verse and cut and paste..
:)
Neil
-
I know because I´ve been doing it so long...I can feel the delivery, produce better vibrato and am generally more relaxed. I also record jams on the phone where my voice is a lot better sounding than on the DAW.
I liked that suggestion about singing the first verse over the second, never thought of it before. Nice one.
-
Knockout idea Neil....now why didn't I think of that? I'm always unhappy with the vocal entry/first line.
-
Martyn,
It sounds like you need to find a way of merging rehearsing and your recording process then.
:)
Neil
-
Another good trick if you are a little unsure about your vocal or want to add some "intensity" is to actually "layer" your vocal during the recording process
Ie: rather than recording a take and then deleting/muting it before recording the next one...
...try leaving the existing takes so that you can hear them as you sing the next ones
This will do 3 things:
1 - the previous takes act as a "guide vocal" so you have something to follow
2 - the vocal of your take is less "exposed" so you will feel less self conscious as you sing
3 - you will find that you may even "sing out" more as you try to compete with the existing vocal recordings
I tend to use this trick when I want a more "rock", live or energetic type vocal
-
Not sure if this helps, but I find that I record much better vocal takes when I'm also playing the song on my piano/ guitar. As soon as I start multi-tracking, something gets lost. If you have a 2 channel or more interface I'd say it's well worth a try. If you get a good vocal take, you can always repair the guitar/ piano later (pro tip: I record the midi when I'm doing piano, so I can 'mend' any bum notes without re-recording)
-
when im recording I find putting headphones on gives me the jitters ...its like as soon as I put them on I tense up becos I know they mean 'you am now going to record' so I have to use speakers instead ....i know your not supposed to but I seem to get away with it
I also try to press the record button without looking & tell myself 'I think you mustve missed it .. so no pressure this will just be another practice!' :)
-
Funny you should mention it Tina, but headphones are a big part of the deal for me too - I hate singing with them on. My pitching goes all to cock as soon as my voice is coming back at me through phones. Another reason why I tend to record vocals with my instrument.
But it's not 'wrong' - it's just different. I know there are big recording artists who record vocals without headphones. If it works for you, don't think twice :)
-
I am gradually pulling myself up the vocal ladder and I have found it helps to practice: (i) a lot, so I will try to do daily runthroughs e.g. in the week leading up to a Saturday tracking session; and (ii) in as similar circumstances as possible as the tracking (so with phones on, with or without instrument, with [good, low latency] input monitoring on) so I know how it will feel on the day.
And recording vocals last of all seems to work best for me - I find singing over the full "band" a real pleasure and gets me into the track much more than just singing over scratch guitar etc.
I'm sure it will not last - probably just a process you'll work through naturally and find the little things that work for you...
-
Lots and lots to relate to here along with some very good suggestions. I will maybe have a go at recording without headphones first, at very low volume. As Tina said, I know you are not supposed to, but I don't think hearing myself through headphones helps. I will also try double-tracking my voice...
-
I get red light syndrome all the time. Sometimes it gets better as I relax while I'm recording. But then, for some reason, sometimes it gets worse! ???
If it's giving me too much trouble, I record in short pieces. I can often get a few short phrases out well, so as soon as I feel things going awry, I'll stop recording, listen to what I've done and punch in when I get to where I need to start the next bit.
At least that's how I would like to do it. I haven't figured out how to punch in with Reaper yet, so I actually start a new track and record the next bit on that, then move it up to the track I'm working on. It's probably time for me to learn how to punch in....
Vicki
-
For me, it's hearing my vocals in the headphones that messes with my brain.
So I don't monitor my vocals that way. I simply remove one side of the headset from my "better" ear.
That way I hear my voice acoustically in one ear, and the backing track (with no vocals) in the other ear while I'm singing into the mic.
Won't be for everyone but works for me :)
Paul
-
It does occasionally occur to me that I am singing to myself and all the world can hear is my caterwauling at the top of my voice.
But I generally put it aside and get on with it. I generally know within 5 minutes if I am up for some singing or not.
It then takes around 20 takes for me to get something I like and I spend a lot of time picking and choosing between those 20. It is a painful process but it is worth it, I hope.
-
I've been thinking about this again and remembered something I struggle with is breath control.
I tend to forget to breathe properly when doing vocals and it leads to weak and badly tuned singing. If I find that I am struggling I just try really concentrating on my breathing and getting it full and in time. It often improves things greatly when I start to focus on my breathing.
I guess when you play with just an instrument, you can take your time and adjust the timings to your breath but the click track waits for no man, so it is suddenly different when you do a studio vocal.
That's my advice, concentrate on your breath and everything else should follow.
-
Good and interesting topic.
I agree re. breath - in my attempts to improve my singing I've found that following advice regarding breathing properly for singing has had the single greatest effect on my voice. When I'm recording it's no good me trying to do a take if I've just walked up the stairs!
-
Yes...some great advice in here... Neil's is an absolute belter of an idea...to sing the first verse later on in the song and then cut-and-paste it in...I do that a lot.
And, as the guys say...breath is so important with singing...I'm forever forgetting to bear that in mind and tend to run out of steam on long passages.
I tried recently to recreate a "live EP" of some old songs we used to gig...and I found that Tinam's idea of singing without headphones and using your speakers for monitoring worked really well...the spill wasn't much of a problem and possibly added to the "live" feel.
Great thread :)
-
I get it sometimes but have tried and am trying a few of the tips mentioned earlier in this excellent thread.
Singing the first verse over the second is a brilliant idea. Haven't tried it.
Here's what I'll do to loosen up when the red light's on:
1 - I sometimes sing without headphones, depending on the song it sometimes work and sometimes not.
2 - Very often I do what Paul does, remove my left (it's always the left for some reason) headphone but keep the right one on. This usually works.
3 - I practice singing the song (I tell myself) while having the red light on, I'm stupid like that and very often it's one of these takes that makes it.
4 - I try as often as I can to sit and noodle and sing with the headphones and red light on just to get used to it.
5 - If none of these things work, right before I start recording, I listen to a couple of songs I like, like really listen, to songs that sound a bit like the one I'm working on. I listen to how they sing, how they articulate and what feeling they try to convey and I then try to get into that mood and copy that feeling. Shortly thereafter I record. It usually works wonders.
Cheers,
S
Edit: Oh I almost forgot, what I've stopped doing is to record a demo take. You know when the lyrics are only half finished or sometimes there aren't even an existing lyrics. I've stopped doing that completely. That only leads to a demo recording you will fall in love with and in the end is absolutely impossible to match and it only increases the pressure when you're ready to record the actual vocals. No demos, record only what you're ready to keep is my final advice.
-
For me, it's hearing my vocals in the headphones that messes with my brain.
So I don't monitor my vocals that way. I simply remove one side of the headset from my "better" ear.
That way I hear my voice acoustically in one ear, and the backing track (with no vocals) in the other ear while I'm singing into the mic.
Won't be for everyone but works for me :)
Paul
Yep,that works for me too. It seems more like singing live instead of isolated doing karaoke.
The red light thing? I had that in Amsterdam once...damn it itched forever. :(